A Study on the Reading Response of 4-5-Year-Old Children Depending on the Presence or Absence of Text in Picturebooks –Focusing on Mark Janssen's「Island」-

This study aims to examine young children's reading responses in relation to the presence or absence of text in picture books and to analyze differences in their responses to two distinct types of picture books. To achieve this objective, the study was conducted with four-year-olds and five-year-olds attending a workplace daycare center in District J. The research utilized a wordless picture book, Island, and a picture book with text, Shh! I am an Island, to collect children's verbal and behavioral reading responses. Data were gathered through video recordings, audio recordings, researcher field notes, and educational materials. The findings of the study are as follows. First, in response to the wordless picture book Island, children exhibited verbal reading responses by carefully observing and interpreting the illustrations. They also demonstrated intertextual responses by connecting prior experiences to the book's content. Behaviorally, they attempted to reenact the images and events depicted in the book. Second, when engaging with the picture book with text, Shh! I am an Island, the children responded verbally by listening to the text and identifying elements within the illustrations or constructing new narratives based on the given text. Their behavioral responses involved reenacting scenes from the book's illustrations while the teacher read aloud. Third, the study found no significant differences in the children's responses whether text was present or absent in the picture books. This study empirically demonstrates that the presence of text in picture books does not necessarily influence young children's reading responses. Therefore, in early childhood education, rather than focusing solely on whether a picture book contains text, educators should prioritize the quality of illustrations and design activities that encourage children's active participation.